The strangest thing to me is how birth control varies from person to person. I have been on levonorgestrol pills for a few years and it works well, but I have had birth control in the past that hasn't worked nearly as well.
I am on something called Loette, but I believe that's only available in Northern Europe. I was able to get an identical pill in the USA when I was stuck there last year. I can't remember for the life of me what it was called, but I just asked a pharmacist and she knew. It does exist, I promise!
If you have the money and fancy a trip to Belgium, the company Contrel makes various interesting new IUDs, including some variants on the hormonal model, and I believe they will insert them for you. There's one with 2/3 the hormone dose of Mirena, and a copper/hormonal combi one which has about 1/4 the dose of Mirena. Would that be an option?
Regarding other hormonal contraception, it'll probably be a case of trial and error.
Obvious question, but are you on meds for the depression/anxiety, and is there a chance they could be improved if you are?
I'm also wondering if you have an underlying hormonal disorder apart from the PMDD, PCOS or something. Have you been checked out for those?
Sadly I'm in the US and I don't have the money to spend on a trip to Belgium for healthcare. I can barely afford the healthcare I have now. I stopped the bioidenticals because my insurance won't cover it. :-(
No meds for dep/anx right now; have been on pretty much everything in every combo in the past; nothing really helped much except for nardil (an MAOI) which is off the market and eventually gave me such bad side effects that I was even more depressed than before taking it! It's pretty clear that it's hormonal that makes things much, much worse. (And has been the case since I was a teenager...)
Haven't been checked for PCOS but I don't think I have many of the symptoms (my period is fairly regular, 24-27 days; I have low cholesterol & low BP and am thin with no real weight gain, no extra hair, etc.); I do have VERY slight hypothyroidism and lots of symptoms of hypothyroidism, but only the naturopathic doctors think it counts since it's in the "healthy" range
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Not sure about the endocrinologist, can you ask your GP about this? I'm in the UK, where not only is healthcare free (though waiting lists for specialists can be tricky), but all referrals to specialists go through your existing doctor, you don't self-refer. Not sure if it's the same with you.
Out of curiosity, how's your sleep? And how much sunlight do you get? Bright light therapy may be worth a shot. It's best known for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter depression caused by insufficient light exposure), but it has a pretty good success rate with non-seasonal depression as well, in fact it's as good as anti-depressants, or nearly, according to the research I've read. The Zadro light box is fairly cheap on eBay, I've just noticed, and that's meant to be one of the good ones. I've actually written a website about sleep problems, light therapy and darkness therapy, so if you're interested go and have a wander around there
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I am on something called Loette, but I believe that's only available in Northern Europe. I was able to get an identical pill in the USA when I was stuck there last year. I can't remember for the life of me what it was called, but I just asked a pharmacist and she knew. It does exist, I promise!
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Regarding other hormonal contraception, it'll probably be a case of trial and error.
Obvious question, but are you on meds for the depression/anxiety, and is there a chance they could be improved if you are?
I'm also wondering if you have an underlying hormonal disorder apart from the PMDD, PCOS or something. Have you been checked out for those?
Reply
No meds for dep/anx right now; have been on pretty much everything in every combo in the past; nothing really helped much except for nardil (an MAOI) which is off the market and eventually gave me such bad side effects that I was even more depressed than before taking it! It's pretty clear that it's hormonal that makes things much, much worse. (And has been the case since I was a teenager...)
Haven't been checked for PCOS but I don't think I have many of the symptoms (my period is fairly regular, 24-27 days; I have low cholesterol & low BP and am thin with no real weight gain, no extra hair, etc.); I do have VERY slight hypothyroidism and lots of symptoms of hypothyroidism, but only the naturopathic doctors think it counts since it's in the "healthy" range ( ... )
Reply
Out of curiosity, how's your sleep? And how much sunlight do you get? Bright light therapy may be worth a shot. It's best known for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter depression caused by insufficient light exposure), but it has a pretty good success rate with non-seasonal depression as well, in fact it's as good as anti-depressants, or nearly, according to the research I've read. The Zadro light box is fairly cheap on eBay, I've just noticed, and that's meant to be one of the good ones. I've actually written a website about sleep problems, light therapy and darkness therapy, so if you're interested go and have a wander around there ( ... )
Reply
I have an endocrinologist appt, any suggestions on what else I should ask about besides thyroid and estrogen/progesterone?
I'll look up FAm, thank you!
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